Before You Read This, Check out this Cool Prezi! 


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MQ-1 Predator Drone

•Built by General Atomics

•Used by: USAF and CIA

•Carries Cameras, censors and fires two AGM-114 Hellfire Missiles

•Seen Combat over Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, Serbia, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, and Somalia

• Program Development Cost $2.38B U.S
• Unit Cost 4.03M U.S
• Production output 360 Units
• Total Costs = $3830800000 Insane!
• Shouldn't we be Spending our Money on Something Else? 

MD4-1000

Target Groups which use MD4-100
1) Public Authority with UAV

• Police, Government, Military, Fire Fighter

2)Research/Development, Education by UAV

• Research Institutes, Universities

3) Industry with UAV

• Energy Supplier, Security, Aerospace, Agro, Geographical Information System, Photogrammetry

4) Business by UAV

• Media, Service Provider

The Underlying Pathological Aspect of Advancing Technology

            In a fast-paced continuously developing world, technology is a dominant, lucrative industry, having immense impacts on life and societies.  The demand for the most cutting edge technology is prevalent among all industries; the advancement and attainment of technology correlates to power.  At the beginning of the technological era, the events of the Cold War defined the advancement of technology to be an everlasting competition.  From sending men into outer space to having weapons of mass destruction, countries at the leading end of the technology evolution have asserted their power over countries who cannot keep up in the arms race.  Though the Cold War is an issue of the 20^th century, the attitudes towards and uses of advancing technology are applicable to today’s world.  Surveillance and invasion of privacy are the most prevalent concerns with the advancement of technology. 

            Drones – the newest form of surveillance that is continuously undergoing improvement, is one of the most controversial milestones in modern technology.  Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles that have the ability to produce detailed surveillance on areas they are hovering over.  One of the latest types of drone has challenged the aerial surveillance to the next level.  Innovative and different from the classic drones, the Hummingbird Drone, developed by AeroVironment, operates closer to the ground and it is the size of an actual hummingbird.  Unlike typical drones, the Hummingbird Drone looks like a bird, flaps its wings like a Hummingbird, and weighs a mere 19 grams.  The concept of the Hummingbird Drone is very sly and secretive in nature; it does not look like a typical surveillance camera.  At its stage in development, it cannot endure certain weather and has a short range to fly.  Though the Hummingbird Drone is not yet in a position to be used as secretive surveillance, it has the potential to be the biggest invasion of privacy.  It allows spying to be taken to a whole new level.

            In addition to the Hummingbird Drone, surveillance has been taken to the next level with the Cyborg Beetle.  Similar to the Hummingbird Drone, it manipulates the nature, behavior, and structure of an animal to be used as secretive surveillance device.  The Cyborg Beetle crawls and flies like a real beetle; a beetle’s size is ideal to hold the technology the Cyborg Beetle needs.  The Cyborg Beetle consists of an off-the-shelf microprocessor, a radio receiver, and a battery attached to a custom-printed circuit board, along with six electrodes implanted into the animals’ optic lobes and flight muscles.  The beetle’s flight and movement patterns are controlled by a laptop via radio-frequency transmitter.  Like the Hummingbird Drone, the Cyborg Beetle also poses a large threat to privacy. There has been rumor that now, with the advancement in nano technology there is a prototype drone that is as small as a mosquito, and carries lethal fluids in its body. Below is a picture

In Relation to 1984!

            We saw in 1984 how the Inner Party and Big Brother projected a utopian society through constant surveillance via the Telescreen. Whether it may have been at home, work or in the streets, there were always eyes watching Winston’s every step. Even when Winston had thought he was safe living upstairs in Mr. Charrington’s shop, he is later captured and imprisoned because he did not know that there was a Telescreen behind the picture of St. Clements Church. This is frightening because although it is illegal for the government to spy within private areas such as households, as the Cyborg Beetle and Hummingbird Drone becomes more known and popular, along with nano technology becoming more advanced, 3^rd party groups may start to manufacture or buy these surveillance items and people might soon not be able to tell the difference between a hummingbird flying around the neighborhood and a drone, or even a beetle that may be buzzing outside your window.  Look Out!

Works Cited

Rothschild, Anna. "The Hummingbird Drone." PBS. PBS, 29 Oct. 0013. Web. 12 June 2014.

Singer, Emily. "The Army's Remote-Controlled Beetle." MIT Technology Review. MIT

Technology Review, 29 Jan. 2009. Web. 12 June 2014.